A Midsummer Night's Dream

There's genuine magic in the sets, effects, beautiful photography and Mendelssohn music. Cagney is fun as Bottom; at the other end of the scale is Dick Powell as Lysander, possibly the worst reading of Shakespeare I have ever seen (amateur and school productions included). Rooney's Puck is one of the most bizarre things I have ever seen on screen but he does fit into the campy, surreal fairyland rather well.

Suffocating in it's bonhomie, like a manic clown screaming at you to cheer the fuck up. It might remain as watchable as it is simply because it's so damn weird, and in a way, stubbornly true to itself. Cagney is able to do this sort of thing with a certain kind of finesse, Rooney (to put it lightly) does not.

The screen adaptation of this idiosyncratic Shakespearean play of mixed love, fairies and bended reality is even more playful, pagan and bizarre than the work of literature itself. The costumes, set designs and choreography are phenomenal, complimented and enhanced by the superb cinematography which has some breathtaking imagery, although alas the quality of the film I saw didn't do it justice. James Cagney and Mickey Rooney are standouts in this slightly over-long but enjoyable and hectic ride.

Mickey Rooney is the best part.

Ridiculous in many ways, mostly, but not entirely, positive. The cinematography, full of sparkles and a hazy dreamlike quality is perfectly fitting of the film's tone and the fluffy story is a simplistic and contrived romance, but an enjoyable one. Everyone overacts and, except for the unbearable noises made by Rooney, it works surprisingly well. The best being Cagney and de Havilland with very different but equally enjoyable performances. The pacing is a little lax, especially towards the end.

Wonderful, although it overstays its welcome a tad towards the end. Contains Mickey Rooney's greatest performance.

The oniric-faerie bits are about the best of its kind ever put to screen, but story and characters don't come out clear. Plenty to enjoy though.

There is some cool stuff here and some impressive production, but it didn't work that well for me. It might just be because I am not familiar with the Shakespeare play. I suspect someone who's a fan of the play might really like the adaptation, but it mostly wasn't for me. It really shows off Cagney's range of talent, though. Mickey Rooney is also really, really into his part (probably too much, as he can be really annoying). It's certainly different from the usual fare at the time.

Not sure how much of the looseness was deliberate and what was planed, but this sure was a odd one! At times a brilliantly dreamy production. At times it drifted off into nothing. And ALL the time it had awkward actors in awkward roles! And that's not necessary a bad thing. Watching the Hollywood star gallery doing Shakespeare, way out of their element and comfort zone, trying something different. And since it felt like a playful production anyway, it only helped make it more fun!